UK equity strength sparks pension deficit cuts

New research by actuaries from Deloitte has revealed that the schemes run by all the FTSE 100 companies have reduced their deficits by a total of £40bn since the start of the year, and they are now at their lowest level of debt in five years. David Robbins, a pensions partner at Deloitte, said: “The key driver behind the recent improvements has been market movements, both in the equity and bond markets.” On average, the schemes had 60pc of their assets invested in the stockmarket during the period, and Robbins said that pension schemes which maintained a significant exposure to the eq...